Of the air traffic control towers slated to close because of budget cuts from sequestration, the FAA gave a reprieve to a handful. Most of the towers, including all five in North Carolina, will close, beginning April 7. That includes the tower at Kinston Jetport at Stallings Field, in the Global TransPark.

Of the federal contract towers initially chosen to close, 24 survived the cut, while 147 are shutting down.

“We heard from communities across the country about the importance of their towers and these were very tough decisions,” U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. “Unfortunately we are faced with a series of difficult choices that we have to make to reach the required cuts under sequestration.”

Where the jetport goes from here isn’t immediately clear.

“Since we just found out today, we’re considering our options,” GTP spokeswoman Alanna King said Friday, shortly after the FAA’s announcement.

“My understanding is all those airports are going to remain open, or their intent is to stay open,” Walls said. “The big impact is going to be on safety, in that we have less control of the airspace surrounding those airports.”

Without people in the tower, pilots themselves will be responsible for maintaining order in the sky. Pilots are trained to manage air traffic, as not all airports have towers to handle arrivals and departures.

“It will be incumbent upon the pilot to keep the airspace deconflicted as operations come in and out of the airport,” Walls said. “They do train for that and they do it at lots of other airports, it’s just a matter of a heightened sense of awareness for the pilots.”

The FAA will phase out closure of the towers over four weeks.

Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 or wes.wolfe@kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.